Sarah Brightman Symphony Tour Concert

Proud of it!

There I was in total awe and amazement watching her hitting note after note of multiple octaves.

On March 7, 2009 the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center was packed with the who’s who and glitterati, coming together for the same cause. And I feel so blessed and thankful (to Mr Khairi) for being able to squeeze in between these posh people and be a part of her Symphony Tour which kick-started last November in Monterrey, Mexico.

At 8.50pm, the lights were slowly dimmed and Plenary Hall turned pitched black with only purple holographic lights bathing the stage as the orchestra started playing the instrumental version of ‘Sanvean’ and later ‘Gothica’.

Attendees. Hehe

It was not until ‘Fleurs du Mal’ (Flowers of Evil) that she appeared on stage, wearing long-flowing red dress, welcomed by wild applause of the audience. She continued with ‘Let It Rain’ and ‘Symphony’, all taken from her latest gothic-meets-opera album ‘Symphony’ but she took time in between both songs to greet the audience and His Majesty the King.

She reckoned the concert as a celebration of her 25^th year in the industry and true enough, we were entertained with the song which catapulted her name, ‘Phantom of the Opera’ with surprise guest artiste, the (very) sexy Allesandro Safina.

Though it wasn’t my most favorite song, I must say it was perhaps the best performance that night especially when she continuously hit the 4-octave notes and the final 5-octave towards the end of the song, which really pleased us.

My jaw was totally on the floor.

Then they performed a duet in ‘Sarai Qui’ or the Spanish rendition of ‘There You’ll Be’, previously recorded by Faith Hill for the movie Pearl Harbor. After Alessandro Safina left the stage, she sung ‘What a Wonderful World’ followed by ‘Dust in the Wind’, a song that she co-wrote for the album Harem.

Before singing the next number, ‘Hijo de la Luna’ (Son of the Moon), she proudly told the audience that it was her most favorite song to sing in any concert and although obviously singing live, she sounded nothing less than perfection as if it were the recorded version.

She changed into a white halter-top dress and then, came my most favorite part of the night when she sung my personal favorite, ‘La Luna’ (The Moon) – a song about two forbidden lovers getting away from everyone just to meet under the moon. And I must say, the final part when she sung the 3-octave verse and quickly jumped to 5-octave was not disappointing at all. It was marvelous and almost as if magical.

Then, we were entertained with the serene rendition of ‘Nella Fantasia’ (In My Fantasy) and the ‘pop-eratic’ ‘Anytime, Anywhere’ where she combined commercial pop and opera verses into one song.

Actually, it wasn't that far. Let's just say that I could see her smiling throughout the performance :)

She went for quick change again (the final one), slipping into an elaborated black dress singing ‘Attesa’ and an English song which until this moment I couldn’t figure out the name of it. Then, Alessandro Safina joined her on stage once more to sing a duet in ‘Canto Della Terra’ which she sings with Andrea Bocelli for the album version.

Boy, that tenor-met-soprano rendition was so powerful that I had goosebumps. The recorded version itself was already exquisite, what more the live version there in front of me.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to say goodbye.”

As she said that, the familiar sad intro of ‘Time to Say Goodbye/ Con Te Partiro’ played, which was probably the most anticipated song whenever she performed.

As she finished singing the last song of the night and took her bow, the crowd went crazy and applauded non-stop for encore. After 5 minutes, she appeared again on stage singing her encore, ‘Deliver Me’ and ended the night with her real final bow.

I must say, though her second time performance in KL this time around didn’t have the actual settings and props that she used in her Symphony tour, she still delivered the best and keep on giving them to the audience throughout the show. I’m not exaggerating but frankly, I didn’t even feel time went by until the show ended at 10.10pm when I finally looked at my watch. She was so mesmerizing and it was very, very worth attending because I didn’t have the chance to catch her in 2005 when she was here for her Harem Tour concert.

Taking the final bow with Alessandro Safina

And to make things even interesting, we, who bought the cheapest ticket (RM253) were asked to fill in the unoccupied second-priciest-front row seats (RM1503). Talk about blessing. What a total bliss.

I certainly look forward to having her again here for the third time in KL in the future. By the time, she would be in her 50s (considering she’s 49 this year) but still exquisite no-less I suppose.

Dear Miss Sarah Brightman, thank you for your presence here and you have no idea how delighted we were. Thank you and thank you.